Andrew Frost: The last time I saw you, you were about to graduate from the Honors year at UNSW Art & Design, and now you’re in New York with another degree, and a new solo show on the horizon. It seems like you’ve had a pretty exciting adventure. Could you talk about how you came to be there?

Lisa McCleary: It’s definitely been a busy and exciting few years. After moving from Ireland to Australia to complete my BFA at UNSW AD I knew I really enjoyed engaging with a different culture and could see that the experience had a positive influence on my practice. In 2016 I was accepted to the Master of Fine Arts Program at Parsons, The New School, NYC. I couldn’t believe that I would get to experience the NY art world, it was overwhelming and I was very honored to be accepted. The Parsons MFA Program offers 20 students a unique opportunity to have a studio in Manhattan while learning alongside a wide range of international and national artists. Masters Programs in the US are structured very differently to Aussie ones, intense hours, a lot of course work and constant critiques. It toughens you up, much like New York at large.

Since I graduated last March I have been exhibiting nationally and have been fortunate enough to receive a space at four different US art residencies. I just completed the Art & Law Programin Manhattan, lead by attorney Sergio Muñoz Sarmiento. It is a seminar that focuses on the study of law, with an emphasis on how its discourses and practices impact visual culture, self-governance, and history. It was fascinating to use legal texts, structures and modes of thought to critique current artistic, curatorial and theoretical practices. Next month I will be undertaking the Vermont Studio CenterResidency for which I received their VSC grant. I realize how fortunate I have been to experience the art world in New York and I haven’t taken it for granted. I’ve been working non-stop to experience all that I can while in the States.

About AMT

In our dynamic world, art reflects conditional reality, and design contributes to further development of global societies. At Parsons School of Design, rigorous practice and critical scholarship prepares students to become leading agents of commentary and change.